FAQ

What is Legacy Health?

Legacy Health is an Oregon-based not-for-profit, tax-exempt corporation that includes seven full-service hospitals and a research facility. Legacy is one of the largest private sector employers in the metropolitan area of Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington. The Legacy system provides an integrated network of health care services, including acute and critical care, inpatient and outpatient treatment, community health education and a variety of specialty services. 

Within the system, Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel is a regional leader in the care of infants, children and teens; the Legacy Oregon Burn Center is the only advanced burn care facility between Seattle and Sacramento; the Trauma Center at Legacy Emanuel has a Level I Trauma Center verified by the American College of Surgeons, the highest designation available for emergency care.  Legacy also has primary care and specialty clinics, as well as hospice and laboratory services.

 

What is the role of pharmacy at Legacy Health?

Pharmacy has a strong presence in all clinical areas within Legacy, with pharmacists decentralized in multiple patient care areas and pharmacist participation in patient care rounds. Pharmacists provide direct patient care to different patient populations including critical care, internal medicine, neonatal ICU, neurology/stroke, emergency medicine, oncology, orthopedic surgery, pediatrics, transplantation, and trauma. 

Pharmacy protocols are established for pharmacists to manage renal dosing, warfarin, heparin, low-molecular weight heparin, antibiotics (including but not limited to vancomycin and aminoglycosides), total parenteral nutrition and therapeutic drug interchange. 

Primary care clinics, transplant clinic, and anticoagulation clinics also utilize pharmacists for collaborative drug therapy management and direct patient care. 

Pharmacy Services operate retail outpatient pharmacies at six hospitals providing clinic, employee and discharge prescriptions. 

 

What is the PGY1 Residency?

Legacy Health's PGY1 Residency provides the resident with exposure to a wide variety of clinical settings and specialty areas. The program is individualized to allow each resident to pursue additional areas of practice interest. Our pharmacy residents interact on a daily basis with members of the healthcare team and students, participating in multidisciplinary rounds, managing collaborative drug therapy protocols and making recommendations to improve patient care. 

 

What is the purpose of the Legacy PGY1 training program?

Legacy’s PGY1 residency programs build on Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) education and outcomes to contribute to the development of clinical pharmacists responsible for medication-related care of patients with a wide range of conditions, eligible for board certification, and eligible for postgraduate year two (PGY2) pharmacy residency training.

 

Is the Legacy Health pharmacy residency ASHP accredited?

Yes, the Legacy pharmacy residency has been accredited since 2001. 

 

What are the qualification requirements for residency candidates?

Candidates for the Legacy PGY1 Residency Program must have graduated from an accredited School or College of Pharmacy and must be licensed in Oregon (or Washington if applying to Legacy Salmon Creek) within 90 days of starting the program.

Legacy participates in the ASHP Residency Matching Program. Applicants are required to be registered in the ASHP Matching Program.

Candidates must apply by using the Pharmacy Online Residency Centralized Application Service (PhORCAS). Within PhORCAS, you will need to apply to each of the facilities independently. Letters of recommendation may all be addressed to Michelle Murray. The letter of intent may be addressed to the Residency Program Director (Michelle Murray) and must address the following:

• Short- and long-term goals for your pharmacy career
• What areas of health-system pharmacy interest you and why
• How Legacy could help you explore those interests and goals
• Something unique or interesting about yourself that you would like us to know when considering your application.

Applications must be received by December 30 each year for the following residency training year.

 

What are the learning experiences for PGY1 residents? 

Required learning experiences (at your individual site)

• Orientation – general (3 weeks) and site specific (4 weeks) for staffing rotation
• General medicine (7 weeks)
• Critical care (6 weeks)
• Pharmacy administration (4-6 weeks)
• Emergency medicine (4-6 weeks)
• Leadership Course (10 weeks during Fall Term)

Elective learning experiences (4-6 weeks in length)
2 electives may take place at a different Legacy Health site from the resident’s “home site”
All other electives must take place at your assigned site

• Ambulatory Care
• Oncology Ambulatory Care (LSCMC)
• Pediatric critical care (RCH)
• Neonatal critical care (RCH)
• Pediatric emergency medicine (RCH)
• Trauma critical care (LEMC)
• Cardiovascular critical care (LEMC)
• Renal transplant (LGSMC)
• Oncology adult (LGSMC) and pediatric (RCH)
• Transitions of Care
• Infectious disease
• Anticoagulation (ambulatory)
• Additional critical care rotation (LSCMC, LGSMC)
• Operating Room (LGSMC)
• Oregon Burn Center (LEMC)
• Oregon Pharmacy Teaching Certificate (OPTC) program

LEMC = Emanuel Medical Center
LMHMC = Mt. Hood Medical Center
RCH = Randall Children’s Hospital
LGSMC = Good Samaritan Medical Center
LSCMC = Salmon Creek Medical Center
LMPMC = Meridian Park Medical Center

 

What teaching opportunities are available for residents?

Legacy Health is a teaching facility for medical residents, medical students, pharmacy residents, and pharmacy students, as well as other disciplines. The pharmacy resident serves as a preceptor for an APPE pharmacy student for at least four weeks during the residency year, in addition to other informal precepting opportunities. A Teaching Certificate Program is an elective rotation available to our residents.

 

What is the compensation for Legacy pharmacy residents?

The resident's monthly stipend is competitive with the local and national market. The exact amount can be found each year on the ASHP Residency Directory. Legacy Benefits include family health, vision, and dental insurance, paid vacation, sick leave, holidays, , travel allowance and a reduced cost public transportation pass. Residents are compensated for travel to ASHP Midyear meeting.

 

What are the staffing requirements of the residency program? 

All residents have a service commitment designed to ensure that residents gain experience and can function as a pharmacy generalist. 

 

Are there other requirements for residents? 

Residents are expected to complete a major project. This project is chosen and completed with the guidance of a preceptor and provides the resident with experience in conducting research, preparing a manuscript and presenting to a group of peers. Residents develop a timeline, receive IRB approval and submit an abstract (in early February) for presentation of the project at a conference.

Residents participate in a variety of projects including drug utilization evaluations (DUEs), in-services for multidisciplinary groups, drug information question write-ups, written education material development for Legacy, newsletter production, and other projects.

 

Residents complete an initial assessment prior to beginning the program with a quarterly review of this assessment as part of the customized training program and schedule review. Residents self-evaluate, evaluate the learning experience and preceptor with each learning experience, along with receiving an evaluation from the preceptor. These evaluations are reviewed quarterly with the program director and the residency site coordinator.

 

How many past residents are currently employed by Legacy? 

Since the PGY1 program achieved accreditation in 2001, over 40 residents have participated in residency training with Legacy. Over 50% of past Legacy residents are currently working at Legacy in a variety of settings including the emergency department, surgery, critical care, medicine, anticoagulation and transitions of care. 

 

Does Legacy Health sponsor H-1B Visas for foreign students or PGY1 residents interested in pursuing residency training? 

Legacy Health is not able to sponsor visas for foreign students or PGY1 residents interested in pursuing residency training.